Rock Documentaries on Netflix Instant

rollingstone had an article on the best rock documentaries on netflix instant a while ago. i thought this might be a good place for people to offer their opinions on some good rock documentaries/concert films/etc. for people to watch, that stand on their own even if people are unfamiliar with the band. maybe even talk about some great rock documentaries that are not on netflix instant, and why they are. a brief description can be helpful

here's some on instant i'd recommend:

We Jam Econo: The Story of the Minutemen
documentary of the punk band the minutemen. i hadn't really listened to much minutemen prior to this, but it kept me interested regardless. interviews with thurston moore, henry rollins, members of the band, etc. talk about their influence, respect for the band, and the death of guitarist/singer/songwriter d. boon.

Who Is Harry Nilsson? (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?)
talks of the singer/songwriter harry nilsson, who was respected and friends with members of the beatles. nilsson had a fantasic voice, and was an equally great songwriter, but alcohol and a very active party life ultimately wore him down and his voice.

The Flaming Lips: The Fearless Freaks
even if you're not a fan of the band this documentary is engrossing, which most good rock documentaries are. shows of the rise of the band, tracing some of the band's classic albums, and band member steven drozd's struggle with heroin.

I Am Trying to Break Your Heart
about the making of, some say, Wilco's best album Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. covers the making of the album, the band's confrontation with their then record label about its commercial appeal, and the kicking out of member jay bennett.

Scott Walker: 30 Century Man
describes his early work with the walker brothers, solo work (scott walker 1-4), and his later work. interviews the camera shy man himself.

I liked We Jam Econo but probably not as much as I expected. It was mostly a lot of awed reverence and live clips of songs. (Oh, wait, not clips - that's just how they write - but it felt like it, in this context.)

I rather liked The Fearless Freaks but recommend against watching it with your parents if your parents are my parents.

The Wilco and Scott Walker ones are fantastic.

Also I think I refuse to watch the Harry Nilsson one because if you're doing a doc about a songwriter you don't name it after a Fred Neil song. Unless it is about Fred Neil. And I would watch the hell out of that.

I would like to add

You're Gonna Miss Me
About Roky Erickson. I knew some 13th Floor Elevators before this but damn did this hook me. It really is amazing that he was able to play Coachella a couple years ago; I wish I had seen him.

Kill Yr Idols
Looks at No Wave and related late 70s/early 80s New York outsider rock movements, intercut with artist from the current (2002-3) wave of New York alt bands (generally making them look silly.) Do you like Glenn Branca and James Chance and Lydia Lunch? Do you want to? If so then this is for you.

It Might Get Loud
Recent guitar-worship doc featuring Jimmy Page, the Edge and Jack White. Hear about each artist's coming of age as a musician, wander around the country estate where Led Zeppelin IV was recorded, see where the members of U2 went to middle school, etc. It climaxes with the three of them together in a studio filled with guitars talking about the guitar and playing. The looks on Jack and the Edge's faces when Jimmy starts playing Zeppelin riffs is worth the price of admission, as is Jimmy watching Jack to see how to play one of his riffs.

Not on Instant (but Netflix has it on DVD)Jandek on Corwood was very interesting. It came out in 2003 and as such is more speculation than it would be today. It is mostly people - journalists and critics, radio DJs, other musicians, one or two random people that met him - talking about Jandek, his music and their experiences and thoughts on the music. Calvin Johnson gets an A+, Dr Demento an A, Richie Unterberger a D. Sadly Richie has far more screen time than most.

Re: Rock Documentaries on Netflix Instant

John Cage: One 11 with 103
This includes a pair of Cage's experimental video pieces and also an hour long documentary on the composer.

And since I'm straying enough, I'll go back to a film I've already seen32 Short Films About Glenn Gould
about the Pianist who caused a stir in the 50s with his odd approaches/opinions on baroque and classical music who abruptly quit performing live in the mid 60s.

Until the Light Takes Us (DVD only)
About Norwegian black metal, focusing on the late 80s and early 90s, artists like Mayhem, Burzum and Darkthrone. It's focus is on the culture and the principles (and the killings and church burnings) rather than the music.

Re: Rock Documentaries on Netflix Instant

Heavy Metal in Baghdad- Made by the folks over at Vice (VBS.com) while out researching and filming other stuff they found this metal band trying to just be a band and play the music they want to play in the middle of Iraq and this big war.

There's also a couple of cool hip hop docs. I'd recommend The MC: Why we Do it and the Art of 16 Bars. Probably the two best produced pieces on hip hop as an art, culture, business etc. The two actually work as companion to each other. If you like hip hop check these out.

Planet B-Boy is also a great doc about the biggest b-boy/break dance competition.

Ill also throw an honorable mention at the Beef series. The first Beef is very good and gives a lot of history and background of hip hop and focuses on how competitive hip hop is just by nature alone and why and where the beefs and feuds began. If you aren't a fan of hip hop these can easily come off as silly. Beef 2-4 slide down the scale of freshness quickly and aren't nearly as good as the first.

Re: Rock Documentaries on Netflix Instant

some great adds everyone. some i've yet to see, and i will now, and those i have You're Gonna Miss Me and It Might Get Loud i'd recommend, as well.

Originally Posted by mountmccabe

Also I think I refuse to watch the Harry Nilsson one because if you're doing a doc about a songwriter you don't name it after a Fred Neil song. Unless it is about Fred Neil. And I would watch the hell out of that.

you should watch this john. they cover that fred neil wrote the famous song, and i agree that it's kind of silly that they named it after it. my guess is they named it so, because it's what people unfamiliar with nilsson's work recognize.

Originally Posted by bballarl

Oh, the brief doc on the Stones/Exile on Main Street is worth watching. Nothing mindblowing, but worth your time if you are a fan of the band.

liked this, too. you're right it probably helps to be a fan of the band going in. it shows the stones, especially keith richards, at their most drug dependent, while making some of their best work.

Re: Rock Documentaries on Netflix Instant

Has anyone seen that Jimi Hendrix documentary Rainbow Bridge? I just read a book about the Brotherhood of Eternal Love called Orange Sunshine and am interested in the movie. From the book I picked up that it has a lot to do with aliens, it's based in Hawaii, and it features Hendrix's show on a volcano?

Re: Rock Documentaries on Netflix Instant

Originally Posted by daxton

Entitled All Tomorrow's Parties?

Yes. I just finished it. Honestly, I didn't think it was that great. I wanted more interviews. More history. Stories. Anything. All it was was clips of various performances mainly from 2004-2007. The clips were cool, but it got a little repetitive and I almost fell asleep.

Re: Rock Documentaries on Netflix Instant

got reminded about this doc, due to another thread

DiG!
is pretty great from what i remember. follows two bands, the brian jonestown massacre and the dandy worhols, as they try to make it big, and as anton from bjm slowly self destructs. it's not on netflix instant, but worth a shot if you're looking for something to watch, among the others recommended.

Re: Rock Documentaries on Netflix Instant

Oh, so I saw I'm Your Man recently. I didn't love it. It was pretty ok. The format was sort of strange. It was mostly footage of various artists covering Cohen songs, combined with pieces of an interview of Cohen. Martha Wainwright did cover the shit out of one song I can't remember.

Re: Rock Documentaries on Netflix Instant

Originally Posted by buddy

Who Is Harry Nilsson? (And Why Is Everybody Talkin' About Him?)
talks of the singer/songwriter harry nilsson, who was respected and friends with members of the beatles. nilsson had a fantasic voice, and was an equally great songwriter, but alcohol and a very active party life ultimately wore him down and his voice.

Re: Rock Documentaries on Netflix Instant

I eagerly await this release:

I had tickets in hand to see Morphine live when they got back from their European tour, but Mark Sandman died on stage in Rome and I never got to see them perform. Morphine is the soundtrack to my HS years hanging out at a coffee shop in the mid 90s called, Celebrities. The same coffee shop where I met the woman who was to become by wife, a decade later. This year, the documentary will be out on the festival circuit. I can't wait to see it.